19 August 2015 Current Affairs
Olympic champion Sebastian Coe elected IAAF president
Britain’s Sebastian Coe was elected as new International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) president at the 50th IAAF Congress in Beijing on 19 August 2015.Coe, a former Conservative Party lawmaker and a member of the House of Lords, a two-time Olympic 1,500-metre champion and chief organiser of the 2012 London Olympics, beat Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka and won the vote 115-92 in the IAAF election held on the eve of the world championships in Beijing.
RBI grants approval to 11 applicants to set up payments bank
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-principle approval to 11 payment bank applicants under the Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks.A payment bank differs from conventional banks as it cannot lend to its customers. It is allowed to take deposits, allow remittances and provide simple financial products.AIR correspondent reports that the RBI had received 41 applications for payments banks of which 11 were given permissions.AIR correspondent reports, the applicants who have been granted permission for payment banks include Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, Airtel M Commerce Services Limited, Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited, Department of Posts, Fino PayTech Limited, National Securities Depository Limited, Reliance Industries Limited, Tech Mahindra Limited, Vodafone m-pesa Limited among others.The minimum capital needed to set up a payments bank is set at Rs 100 crore.The bank will be allowed to accept savings deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh from each customer. RBI’s ‘in-principle’ nod will be valid for a period of 18 months.The payment bank will need to invest 75 percent of its funds in government securities.